Becoming the Enemy

         "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Matthew 16:26. 

"Faith of our fathers - living still - in spite of dungeon, fire and sword..." On May 3, 2011, my step-father, Pat, asked me an important question. "What is your opinion about this?" He had just told me that Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks, had been killed. American soldiers had stormed his hiding place and shot him dead. It seemed there was some controversy about what they did. Should they have taken him captive and put him on trial instead? Pat explained that there was some concern about whether Osama Bin Laden's followers would retaliate against America, but that wasn't my concern. I couldn't bring myself to answer Pat's question. I was afraid that under the circumstances, my answer would sound ridiculous. 

There are few things in life that I view as a black and white issue. Killing is one of them. Self-defense is a justifiable reason for killing, as is killing when it is the only way to save the life of someone else. However, when we kill someone in cold blood - even someone who is a cold-blooded killer himself - we become like him. Nothing done in cold blood is acceptable, regardless of who the victim is, or how much evil he has done. It is not acceptable to behave in a such a way to anyone - even someone like Osama Bid Laden. Was I crazy for thinking that? Was I crazy for thinking that we should respect the life of someone who had no respect for the lives of others? Were my lofty ideals completely unrealistic in the face of the practical problems of life? That's what my natural father would have said. Dad could never understand how I felt about things like that. How could I explain it to Pat? So I completely "chickened out". I ended up saying that I was too busy to pay attention to what was going on in the news, and had not formed an opinion.

For as long as I can remember, there was always some ruthless dictator from a foreign country who was creating problems for America. "Ayatollah Khomeini is biting off more than he can chew" my seventh grade social studies teacher said, while giving a lesson about current events. "Mr. Gorbachav, take down that wall!" Reagan declared. Then there was Saddam Hussein. He was what Desert Storm was all about. The man was responsible for the death and suffering of countless people, and I remember saying to my co-workers at the time that I almost wish someone would kill him. I just wanted all the pain and suffering that he was causing to stop. It is hard not to have those kinds feelings toward someone doing so much evil, but for the most part, we as Americans never allowed ourselves to be controlled by our emotions. Alongside these tyrants, America stood firm as the reasonable one. We abided by our principles. We were humane. We treated people with dignity. We refused to stoop to the level of our vicious enemies, even when we were at war with them. It was what separated us from them, and made this country the place where everyone wanted to live. 

Its been another unforgettable week. While the country was on the brink of a government shutdown, the president and the secretary of defense met with all the military leaders to lecture them about their appearance and to stop them from being so "wok". Then there was a comment about getting rid of the "stupid rules of engagement". What is that if not a license for the military to be inhumane? At that point I knew we were in trouble. The soul of the country was in jeopardy. We had begun to lose our humanity. The desire for revenge and control had become more important than any of the principles we used to live by. The military will practice in American cities, having gotten rid of the rules of engagement. Practice what? Manhandling the enemy? On whom? Ordinary citizens? Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but its not hard to see where this is going. 

There are times in life when we may have to literally fight our Christian brothers and sisters. There may be times when we have to use some type of force in dealing with them, just to ensure safety and order. However, when we stop being humane, we hurt ourselves much more than we hurt them. When we stoop to the level of the enemy, it diminishes our integrity and destroys who we are. In our efforts to avenge the enemy, we start to BECOME him! It may help us to make some temporary short-term gains, but nothing that we gain from it can be taken with us when we pass from this world. In the blink of an eye, we will be standing before God with nothing but a naked soul. Who we are is all that will be left. It is the only thing at that point that will matter. We will want to be judged by God as being at least better than our worst enemy. We will want our country to be judged as being better than the countries that we've been fighting with.   

It is so silly to waste time trying to exact revenge upon our enemies. In the blink of an eye, they will have to answer to God for everything they did, and He will deal with it. Meanwhile, any act that compromises who we are only plays into the hands of the ones who want to harm us. Why give them the satisfaction?

I can't have a conversation with Dad or Pat any more, because they are both deceased. I regret having never answered Pat's question honestly. I regret that I didn't give him a chance to prove that he could understand. I regret that I never told him that his question was one of the most important questions that anyone ever asked me. I am sad that I cannot tell him that I am still thinking about it fourteen years later. My hope is that Pat's soul is aware of this piece of writing and that it answers his question. I hope that Pat understands why I feel the way I do. From up there, maybe Dad can understand it, too. Moreover, I hope that by the time I have gotten there, who I am is someone that all my fathers - Dad, Pat and most importantly, God - can be proud of.   "Faith of our fathers - Holy Faith - We will be true to thee til death!" 

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.     Luke 6: 32-36. 

"From a distance, you look like my friend, even though we are at war....From a distance I just can't comprehend what all this fighting is for!"             Lyrics from the song, "From a Distance" by Bette Midler (1991). 

"Now this is the world we live in, and these are the hands we're given, use them and let's start trying - to make this a place worth fighting for!"         Lyrics from the song, "Land of Confusion" by Genesis (1987).